Want to watch a Ravens game with Jonathan Ogden?

November 29, 2011|By Matt Vensel

Have you ever wanted to watch a Ravens game with a (future) Hall-of-Famer? Jonathan Ogden is auctioning off an opportunity for the highest bidder to host the towering offensive tackle on Sunday afternoon when the Ravens hit the road to take on the Cleveland Browns. That’s right; Ogden is coming over to watch the game.

(Disclaimer: If you win the auction, you’re going to need to run out and buy a bigger recliner, too.)

All the money raised in the auction goes to the Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund, and the auction ends this Wednesday at 1 p.m. You can find all the details about the Ogden charity auction by clicking on this link.

I get a bunch of emails from public relations agencies who want me to promote events and products, but this should be of interest to Ravens fans, so I took the bait. Plus I got a chance to catch up with a Ravens legend.

“I enjoy doing all kinds of charitable things, but I try to help the former players anytime I can,” said Ogden, who called me from a Las Vegas golf course on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the auction. “These are the guys that came before me and helped make the league what it is today. A lot of those guys are hurting because they didn’t make money that we started to make around my time. Anything I can do to help them, I’m all-in on that.”

The Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund provides medical and financial assistance to retired NFL players, which Ogden has been since he hung up his massive cleats after the 2007 season. He has been working on his golf game, but he has also been doing radio for the Ravens and maintaining the Jonathan Ogden Foundation.

“Baltimore was so good to me, so why not keep everything going there? It’s needed, and I can do it,” he said.

So what will it be like to watch a game with Ogden?

Now that he is a few years into retirement, Ogden doesn’t get excited watching the Ravens play as he used to. He said it drives former players crazy when they get too emotionally invested in games. “You’re like, ‘Man, I could have done that so much better,’” he said. “Then you remember you’re old and you can’t do it anymore.”

But the lucky auction winner can expect a “seven out of 10” on the purple passion scale from Ogden on Sunday.

“It’s going to be a big party. We’re going to have some fun,” said Ogden, who will bring drinks and snacks.